Gym jargon explained

Effort and progress

• RPE (rate of perceived exertion): how hard a set felt, on a scale of 1 to 10.
• RIR (reps in reserve): how many more good reps you could have done. RPE 8 is roughly two reps in reserve.
• Failure: the point where you cannot complete another rep with good form.
• Progressive overload: gradually increasing the challenge over time, the principle behind all progress.
• Deload: a planned lighter week to let your body recover and consolidate.
• Plateau: a spell when progress stalls.
• Volume: the total amount of work, usually counted in sets and reps.
• Intensity: how heavy or hard the work is compared with your maximum.

Our guides to RPE and RIR, progressive overload and deload weeks explain these ideas properly if you want to go further.

Types of exercise and session

Coaches use these words to describe what kind of work you are doing and why. They help you understand how a session fits together.

• Compound exercise: uses several joints and muscle groups at once, such as squats, deadlifts and presses.
• Isolation exercise: targets one joint or muscle, such as a biceps curl.
• Accessory work: supporting exercises done after the main lift.
• Superset: two exercises done back to back with little rest between them.
• Circuit: several exercises done one after another in sequence.
• Conditioning or metcon: training aimed at your heart, lungs and endurance.
• Finisher: a short, hard piece at the end of a session.
• Hybrid training: combining strength and endurance training in one programme.
• Unilateral: working one side at a time, such as a lunge or single-arm row.
• Mobility: exercises that improve how freely you move through a range of motion.

Conditioning formats

• AMRAP: as many rounds or reps as possible in a set time.
• EMOM: every minute on the minute. Do the work at the start of each minute and rest for whatever is left.
• For time: complete a set amount of work as fast as you can with good form.
• Intervals: alternating periods of work and rest.
• Tabata: a specific interval format of 20 seconds hard and 10 seconds rest, eight times through.
• Steady state: a continuous effort at a consistent, usually moderate pace.
• Zone 2: an easy, conversational intensity often used for building aerobic fitness.

If you want to know how these formats are used in practice, see our guide to conditioning classes explained.

Equipment and the gym floor

• Barbell: the long bar used for squats, deadlifts and presses. A standard one weighs 20 kg.
• Plates: the discs loaded onto a barbell. Bumper plates are rubber and can be dropped where the gym allows.
• Collars: clips that hold plates in place on the bar.
• Rack or squat rack: a frame with hooks to hold the bar at chest height, plus safety arms.
• Rig: a larger steel frame combining several racks, pull-up bars and attachments.
• Safety arms or spotter arms: bars that catch the barbell if you fail a rep.
• Spotter: a person who helps you if you cannot finish a rep.
• Working in: sharing equipment by alternating sets with someone.
• KB and DB: kettlebell and dumbbell.
• Sled: a weighted sled pushed or pulled along turf or a track.
• SkiErg, rower and air bike: the main conditioning machines in many hybrid gyms.

For the unwritten rules around sharing all this kit, see our gym etiquette guide.

HYROX and recovery terms

If you train at a hybrid or HYROX gym, you will hear a few race-specific words too, along with some recovery terms that apply to everyone.

• HYROX: a fitness race of 8 x 1 km runs, each followed by a functional station.
• Stations: the eight exercises in HYROX, such as the sled push, wall balls and farmers carry.
• Roxzone: the transition area between the running and the stations. See our guide to the Roxzone.
• Divisions: HYROX categories, including Open, Pro, Doubles and Relay.
• DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness, the stiffness you feel a day or two after new exercise.
• Active recovery: light movement on rest days that helps you feel less stiff.
• Scaling: adjusting an exercise to suit your current level.

Still hearing words you do not recognise? Ask. Coaches use this language every day and forget it is not obvious. Every class at Lycan Strength is scalable, with coaches adjusting movements to the person, so asking what something means is also the quickest way to get the right version for you.